Covering 25 to 31 July 2026. One draft regulation with direct consequences for projects waiting on transmission. Every item is checked against the issuing authority's own document.
1. CERC drafts graded ISTS charges waiver for projects delayed by transmission non-readiness
CERC · 31 July 2026
CERC has issued the draft Sharing of Inter-State Transmission Charges and Losses (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, with comments invited by 31 August 2026. It follows the Ministry of Power office memorandum of 16 April 2026 on extending the graded ISTS (inter-state transmission system) charges waiver to renewable projects delayed by transmission non-readiness. Under proposed clause 13(2)(h-i), a wind, solar or wind-solar hybrid project with a contract of at least seven years with a buyer, signed on or before 31 December 2026 directly or through a trading licensee or a renewable energy implementing agency (REIA), and delayed beyond its firm start date of connectivity because the transmission system is not available, gets the waiver slab of that firm start date if it achieves commercial operation (COD) within two months of its general network access (GNA) becoming effective. The waiver then runs to the end of the contract tenure. Table 6 keeps slabs of 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0 per cent for firm start dates on or before 30 June 2025, 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2028 and after 30 June 2028.
There is no extension or substitution of the contract, and copies must reach CTUIL and NLDC by 31 January 2027; where a trader or REIA is involved, both contracts must be dated on or before 31 December 2026. If COD is missed by the two months, the waiver follows the existing Table 1 trajectory. A project eligible under both this route and the existing rules must tell NLDC and CTUIL within 15 days of COD which one it claims, and the choice is binding. Where a battery energy storage system (BESS) is an integral part of a wind or solar station and the whole is scheduled as a single entity, the BESS energy is eligible for the waiver for up to 25 years from COD. The explanatory memorandum notes that the 31 March 2026 PPA cut-off in the Ministry's memorandum had already passed, hence the later date is proposed.
Why it matters for wind: Projects delayed only because the network was not ready get back to the waiver slab of their firm connectivity start date, provided they commission within two months of the GNA becoming effective and hold a qualifying contract signed by 31 December 2026. Developers should check contract dates and documentation now, since the choice of route is binding and contracts must be filed by 31 January 2027.